Dr. Richard Saunders, director of the Museum of Art at the Center for the Arts at Middlebury College, gave a lecture on Oct. 19 in the Science Center Auditorium. Titled "The College Museum: Collections and Directions," the talk focused on Dr. Saunders' experience with Middlebury's collection and how the collection's evolution relates to current museum developments at Hamilton.
After a brief introduction by Acting Director of the Emerson Gallery David Nathans, Dr. Saunders highlighted several similarities between Middlebury and Hamilton, including Middlebury's situation in a small rural community. He emphasized the two schools' resemblances as a basis for comparing their museum histories. He then outlined the features of Middlebury's facility, citing its collection's range from pieces from antiquity to modern sculpture and its two levels of exhibition space. He also mentioned its current exhibit, "Asian Games," which chronicles the history of games in Asian countries and the more modern equivalents played commonly in the West, such as chess and mahjong.
Dr. Saunders then detailed the history of the Middlebury museum collection and space, explaining first that unlike other schools Middlebury never received a large donation of works. In fact, its collection seemed comparatively thin for many years, garnering little recognition from either the school community or the general public. However, an alumna's 1968 founding of a building devoted to art and music, in honor of her father Christian A. Johnson, was a catalyst for change in the college's attitude toward art and its collection. The role of the arts at Middlebury became even more prominent with Professor of Religion Steven Rockefeller at the helm of museum activities. Rockefeller managed to secure resources and materials for exhibitions on a previously unprecedented scale, gaining loans from renowned art museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Soon the collection drew a great deal of attention, even from such figures as the Dalai Lama, who has visited Middlebury twice.
By the mid-1980s, the college's atmosphere was changing, said Dr. Saunders. President Olin C. Robison, who understood the importance of the visual arts, expanded the college's museum facilities and appointed Dr. Saunders the first full-time director of the Christian A. Johnson Memorial Gallery. Dr. Saunders noted that the museum's budget these days has exceeded $1.5 million, a feat he attributed to the college's recognition of art's significance and commission of funds to promote the collection properly.
Dr. Saunders then outlined the "13 Steps" of Middlebury's successful development of its museum. He noted the college's emphasis on its collection's conservation and caretaking, its efforts to showcase faculty projects and embrace the local community, and its placement of art throughout campus to engage students, as just a few of the college's strategies.
Dr. Saunders concluded by saying that he believes that Hamilton too can employ such policies to foster a lively museum culture on campus. He further emphasized the need for a museum director who also teaches, as he does, and is intimately involved in campus life, so that he or she can fittingly guide the museum and attract appealing exhibits with administrative support.
This lecture was sponsored by the William G. Roehrick Lecture Fund.
-- by Greg Gencarello '06
After a brief introduction by Acting Director of the Emerson Gallery David Nathans, Dr. Saunders highlighted several similarities between Middlebury and Hamilton, including Middlebury's situation in a small rural community. He emphasized the two schools' resemblances as a basis for comparing their museum histories. He then outlined the features of Middlebury's facility, citing its collection's range from pieces from antiquity to modern sculpture and its two levels of exhibition space. He also mentioned its current exhibit, "Asian Games," which chronicles the history of games in Asian countries and the more modern equivalents played commonly in the West, such as chess and mahjong.
Dr. Saunders then detailed the history of the Middlebury museum collection and space, explaining first that unlike other schools Middlebury never received a large donation of works. In fact, its collection seemed comparatively thin for many years, garnering little recognition from either the school community or the general public. However, an alumna's 1968 founding of a building devoted to art and music, in honor of her father Christian A. Johnson, was a catalyst for change in the college's attitude toward art and its collection. The role of the arts at Middlebury became even more prominent with Professor of Religion Steven Rockefeller at the helm of museum activities. Rockefeller managed to secure resources and materials for exhibitions on a previously unprecedented scale, gaining loans from renowned art museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Soon the collection drew a great deal of attention, even from such figures as the Dalai Lama, who has visited Middlebury twice.
By the mid-1980s, the college's atmosphere was changing, said Dr. Saunders. President Olin C. Robison, who understood the importance of the visual arts, expanded the college's museum facilities and appointed Dr. Saunders the first full-time director of the Christian A. Johnson Memorial Gallery. Dr. Saunders noted that the museum's budget these days has exceeded $1.5 million, a feat he attributed to the college's recognition of art's significance and commission of funds to promote the collection properly.
Dr. Saunders then outlined the "13 Steps" of Middlebury's successful development of its museum. He noted the college's emphasis on its collection's conservation and caretaking, its efforts to showcase faculty projects and embrace the local community, and its placement of art throughout campus to engage students, as just a few of the college's strategies.
Dr. Saunders concluded by saying that he believes that Hamilton too can employ such policies to foster a lively museum culture on campus. He further emphasized the need for a museum director who also teaches, as he does, and is intimately involved in campus life, so that he or she can fittingly guide the museum and attract appealing exhibits with administrative support.
This lecture was sponsored by the William G. Roehrick Lecture Fund.
-- by Greg Gencarello '06
